Collar form



Jan. 30, 1951 A. w. SERIO 2,539,555

COLLAR FORM Filed Sept. 14, 1944 Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE COLLAR FORM Anthony W. Serio, Elmira, N. Y.

Application September 14, 1944, SerialNo. 554,065

8 Claims. I 1

This invention relates to a collar form. The invention is moreparticularly directed to a collar form which acts as a dryer to set thestarch in the collar of a shirt and also to effect a smoothing of thecollar neck band. This collar form moreover efiects setting of thecollar and the band in its natural round condition, and thereby providesgreater comfort to the wearer of the shirt in that the collar is of thecontour of the Wearers neck and that all wrinkles and uneven surfaces ofthe neck band of the collar have been removed.

It is customary in ironing a shirt, upon completion of ironing theshirt, to button the shirt collar and fold the, shirt. As this buttoningand folding is usually performed after the shirt is ironed, the collarhas a tendency to take an outof-round shape and the neck band thereforeis wrinkled. Under these conditions the starch in the collar and neckband set and when the wearer applies the shirt and the collar about hisneck there are wrinkles in the collar band which irritate the neck, andthe collar being out-ofround, must be shaped by the hands of the wearerto effect a round condition and fit about the neck. This collar form isdesigned particularly for domestic use by a laundress in the home, butit may well be used in commercial laundry establishments. In using thepresent collar form, the laundress proceeds with the ironing of theshirt in the usual way until the shirt is completely ironed and thenafter the shirt is ironed, the collar form is inserted within thebuttoned neck band of the collar, and within afew minutes effects asetting of the starch of the collar and neck band and a smoothing of theinterior of the neck band. When this is completed, the laundress has hadabout time to iron another shirt, and therefore the ironing of the shirtand inserting of the collar form, which acts as a dryer, can be repeatedas long as there are shirts to be ironed without any delay by the collarform to effect its setting of the starch in the collar and neck band andsmoothing of the neck band. It is an object of my invention to provide.a collar form which acts as a dryer for setting the collar and neck bandin circular or round shape and eliminate any wrinkles or uneven surfacesof the collar neck band.

,It is another object of my invention to provide a collar formconsisting of two similarly- .shaped sections which are automaticallyexpanvide a collar form which is electrically heated and having aplurality of expansible sections so as to permit ready insertion withina buttoned collar and effect setting of the same and the neck band andsmoothing of the collar band.

It. is another object of my invention to provide a collar form which iselectrically heated and provided with suitable guards so that the userwill not burn or scorch her hands when inserting or removing the devicefrom a shirt collar.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a collar formconsisting of expansible similarly-formed sections and handles from eachsection extending upwardly therefrom which permit of ready grasp of theuser so as to bring the two sections toward each other and automaticallylock the same for insertion in a collar of a shirt, and providing meansfor release of the two sections for automatic expansion to set thecollar and neck band in circular or rounded condition and simultaneouslyeffect smoothing of the interior oi the collar band.

With these and other objects in view, the in vention. consists in theconstruction and novel combination and arrangement of parts herein,-after fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings andpointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood thatvarious changes in the form, proportion, and minor details ofconstruction within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any advantages of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the collar form;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows;

i Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionalview on the. lines '44 of Fig. 3;. and

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional View on the lines 5.5 of Fig. 2. iThe invention will be'more readily understood by referring to thedrawings wherein the collar form as a whole is denoted at C and consistsof .two similarly-shaped 'arcuate sections 5 and 7. {These sections 6and l are of substantially the same shape as the conventional collarwhich is attached to a shirt. In other words, the form ends 6 and l arepointed in the same manner as the points at the ends of a shirt collar.The sections are preferably made of metal and the exterior surface ofeach-issmoothed andpolished.

arcuate band 8 and a similarly-rounded arcuate inner band 9. The forwardend it of each outer arcuate band 3 is flanged at a right angle as isalso the forward end ll of each of the inner arcuate bands 9. The tworight angle flanges I and H are in overlapping and contactingrelationship, and thus there is provided a space or chamber l2 withineach of the arcuate members 8 and 9. The rear ends of the arcuatemembers 9 are hingedly connected together by a conventional piano-typehinge i3 and a pintle I3 is inserted in the inter-connected eyes of thehinge to hold the two sections together, the hinge being interiorly ofthe collar form as shown. Opposite the hinge Hi, there is a shield Mwhich closes up the gap when the two sections are brought toward eachother. This shield may be suitably spot welded within the chamber of thetwo sections, and is preferably spot welded adjacent the extreme outeredge of the outer section 8, but may be otherwise attached thereto.

The two arcuate sections 8 and 9 are held together by means of aplurality of screws 85 which pass through the outer section into screwthreads in the inner section 9.

Disposed within the chamber i2, formed by the inner and outer sections 8and 9, there is a conventional electrical heating element I on eitherside of which there is disposed an asbestos sheet H. A suitablethermostat (not shown) may be embodied in order to control the heatemanating from the heating element I6.

Each section 6 and i has its upper edge It! and its lower edge l3flanged at a right angle thereto, which flanges overlap similarly-formedright angle flanges 2t and 2i on the inner arcuatesections 9. Thisconstruction permits acomplete enclosure for the electrical heatingelement l6 within the chamber i2 of each of the arcuate Sections.

Suitable handles 22 and 23, preferably of fibrous non-heat conductingmaterial are attached at diammetrically opposed points within the collarform by means of securing elements in the form of a plurality of screws24 which pass through the innermost arcuate sections 3 and arescrew-threaded in engagement with the lower projecting portions 22 and23 of the handles 22 and 23. It will be seen that the handles 22 and 23project upwardly above the top of the collar form as a whole. The righthandle 23 has a passageway or opening 25 therein which serves as a meansfor the introduction of the electrical conductor 23 therethrough and theattachment of the end of the latter to a binding post 27 which, ofcourse, is attached to the heating element 53 within the chamber H2 ineach of the arcuate sections. This binding post 2'! consists of theusual contact-making screws 28 and binding nuts 29. As will be seen byFig. 3, the end of the conductor '25 is attached in electricaltransmission relation to the binding post 21.

The conductor 26 with its attachment plug P is of usual construction. Inorder to accommodate the binding post 27, the recess 23a is provided inthe lower portion of the handle 23.

The enlarged lower portions 22 and 23 are each provided withoppositely-disposed recesses 33. These recesses 33 provide a means formounthandle 22 and 23 as will be clearly seen by referring to Fig. 3,but they may be made separately and attached to each handle. The guards30 serve a definite purpose in that when the user grasps the handles 22and 23, there is not the slightest possibility that the users hand orfingers will contact the upper edge of either of the arcuate sections tand 7. It is to be understood that these guards are formed of non-heatconducting material and therefore they will not become hot when thecollar form is in use. The guards are slightly spaced from the upperedge of each of the arcuate sections as indicated at 3|.

A pivoted catch 32 is provided so as to maintain the two arcuatesections 3 and 1 in their non-expanded condition, as shown in Fig. 2,and when released, to permit the two sections to expand, such as shownin Figs. 1 and 4. This catch 32 is preferably of metal and is pivotallymounted or connected to the handle 23 as at 33 by means of a screw orother suitable securing means 34. The other end of the catch 32 isprovided with an elongated slot 35, which slot is enlarged as at 36 atone end thereof. A suitable right angle finger piece 37 extends from thetop of the catch 32 and this finger piece is preferably surrounded by aplastic or fibrous non-heat conducting shield or cover 33. A screw orsimilar means 33, which is provided with an enlarged head, is engaged inthe slot 35 of the catch. Slot 35 permits the two sections to movetoward and away from each other for a predetermined distance and to lockthe two arcuate sections 6 and 7 together. by means of the enlargedopening 36 which, when the catch'drops down, automatically engages theshaft of the screw or the like 33.

In using my collar form, it will be assumed that the two arcuatesections 3 and 'i are held in T8.- tracted positions by means of thecatch 32 as shown in Fig. 2, and that a laundress has, of course,inserted the attachment plug P in a suitable electrical outlet and thatthe collar form is heated. Then the laundress simply inserts the heatedcollar form in a shirt, which has already been ironed and the collarthereof buttoned, and lets it stay there for a few minutes, during whichtime the starch in the collar is set in a circular or rounded condition,and simultaneously therewith the collar form effects a smoothing-out ofany wrinkles in the interior of the collar band and a setting of thecollar band in a smoothed condition. It is to be understood that whenthe collar form has been inserted in the buttoned collar of the shirt,the laundress simply places a finger underneath the finger piece 3?,moving the same upwardly and thereby releasing the two sections to beexpanded gently, yet firmly enough, by means of the spring S, to effectthe smoothing, of the collarband and setting the starchin the latter aswell as setting the starch in the collar. Then,"to remove the collarform, the laundress simply grasps the two handles, moving them to? wardeach other and this will eiiect an automatic locking of the two sectionsin retracted position, as shown in Fig. 2, due to the fact that thecatch will fall by gravity and the enlarged opening free, means forheating the sections and a handle for each section extending above thecollar form to be grasped for insertion and removal of the form from abuttoned shirt collar band attached to the shirt.

2. An electrically heated ring-like collar form of the generalconfiguration of a buttoned collar that is stitched to a collar neckband of a shirt comprising two sections hingedly connected togetherinteriorly adjacent opposed ends of the sections with the other endsthereof free, a handle for each section extending above the top of theform to be grasped for insertion and removal of the form from a shirtcollar band, means for expanding the two sections within predeterminedlimits when inserted in the collar band, and a releasable lockable catchfor maintaining the two sections in a retracted condition duringinsertion and removal of the form from the buttoned shirt collar band.

3. An electrically heated ring-like collar form of the generalconfiguration of a buttoned collar that is stitched to a collar neckband of a shirt consisting of two sections hingedly connected togetheradjacent opposed ends of the sections with the other ends thereof free,means for expanding the sections, handle means connected with eachsection and extending above the sections, which handle means whengrasped permits the said other free ends of each section to be broughttoward each other in a non-expanded condition, and means for releasablylocking the two sections in non-expanded condition when the form isinserted in a buttoned shirt collar band.

4. A ring-like collar form of the general configuration of a buttonedcollar that is stitched to a collar neck band of a shirt consisting oftwo hingedly connected sections, handle means connected with eachsection and extending above the top thereof, electrical heating meanswithin each section and electrically connected with each other, and anelectrical conductor means extending through and beyond one of thehandles and connected with the electrical heating means.

5. A collar form as described in and by claim 4 wherein a spring isdisposed between the two handles and a pivoted catch is mounted on oneof the handles and in engagement with means on the other handle wherebythe two sections may be locked in a non-expanded condition, said catchwhen being released permitting the spring to expa'nd the two sections soas to engage the neck band of a shirt collar and efiect setting of thestarch therein and a smoothing of the neck band of the collar.

6. A ring-like collar form of the general configuration of a buttonedcollar that is stitched to a collar neck band of a shirt consisting oftwo electrically heated hingedly connected sections with a handleassociated with each section and extending vertically above the topthereof, each section having a top and bottom edge, and guard meansextending over a substantial portion of the top edge of each section soas to prevent the user from burning of the user's fingers.

7; A collar form as described in and by claim 6 wherein the guard meansis integral with each handle.

8. A ring-like collar form of the general configuration of a buttonedcollar that is stitched to a. collar neck band of a shirt consisting ofelectrically heated pivotally and relatively movably connected togethersections, each section having form and having its ends secured to eachhandle,

and means for releasably locking the collar form :in a non-expandedcondition during insertion of the form in the collar band of a shirt.

ANTHONY W. SERIO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 277,705 Gilbert May 15 1883440,972 Talbot Nov. 18, 1890 1,102,399 Eileau July 7, 1914 ,1,316,190Sackerman Sept 16, 1919 1,336,559 Gutzwiller Aug. '7, 1918 "11,426,187Harrison Aug. 15, 1922 1,477,602 Simon Dec. 18, 1923 1,650,571 PaleyMar. 5, 1927 1,933,287 Vita Oct. 31, 1933 1,992,388 Moseley Feb. 26,1935 2,051,854 Holloway Aug. 25, 1936 2,170,075 Holloway Aug. 22, 1939

